Our Escape
by RenaeChan77
Summary: Two young men, from different households, living different lives. Both of them have found a common link, a way to escape. Through a website, they find not only themselves, but each other. Sebastian/Ciel
1. Chapter 1

I know most of you must be surprised to see my name in your updates. I know that I have been gone for a long while, and I'm very sorry. But I am returning now, and I'm returning with a brand new story. Don't worry, I **will** be updating my old stories, but I wanted to get the ball rolling again with something new. I'm glad to be back, dear readers, and I look forward to where this will take us. Now, without further ado...

Our Escape

Ciel groaned as he was handed a stack of papers. Rolling his eyes at the quiz, he took a sheet and passed the rest behind him. Really? A Pre Calculus quiz on a Friday? This teacher was insane. He looked up at the portly man standing at the front of the classroom and noticed that he had an amused grin on his face.

"Stop your whining. I've decided to make this a group quiz. You've got fifteen minutes, you'd better get started." he winked, going back to his desk.

The screeching of desks and rustling of paper filled the room as the students hurried to find their friends. Ciel wasn't surprised when the usual suspects pulled up their chairs to his desk.

"I'm glad he made this a group quiz. I sure as hell need help." a scruffy blonde grumbled.

Another blonde sitting next to him punched him in the arm lightly. "I told you to study, Bard!" he giggled.

"Dammit, that hurt, Finny. I told you that you have more strength than you realize." Bard frowned slightly, rubbing his arm in the now sore spot.

"Will you two shut up so that we can actually get started? We only have fifteen minutes."

Ciel glanced over at the dark-haired young man sitting across from him, grateful for the attempt to actually get them on task. "Do you know how to do the first problem Claude? I'm not sure which of the formulas to use…."

Claude nodded and got to work on solving the problem. As he worked, Ciel moved onto the next one. Finny struggled through the last problem, while Bard simply followed along and tried to copy down the work. Claude and Ciel were the top students in the class, so working out complicated problems came easy to them. Finny was just getting by with a high B, while Bard was barely hanging onto a C. For this reason, the small group of friends was glad when they got the chance to work together and help each other out.

When they finished the quiz with a few minutes to spare, they relaxed and added to the gentle hum of conversation going on around them.

"So where's Mey? It isn't like her to skip class." Finny muttered as he doodled on the edge of his paper.

"She had a peer mediation meeting this hour." Claude answered.

Finny grinned as he turned toward the spectacled boy. "Oooh, sounds like someone's been checking up on her. I knew you liked her!"

Claude answered his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Bard.

"Don't be ridiculous, Fin. He's got his eyes on someone else…."

His eyes narrowed, Claude glared at the blonde with a warning look. "Do you really want to talk about who likes who?" he dared.

Bard's cheeks tinged the lightest pink and he quickly looked away. "I was just kidding Claude, sheesh. Can't even take a joke."

Ciel sat amongst them, but his mind was far away. It was often like this. Even though he had a group of friends that he talked to and hung out with, he was always a step away from them. Always distant, as if something else was constantly on his mind.

"...Ciel? Ciel, are you even listening?"

The azure-eyed boy jumped out of his reverie and looked around to see who was talking to him. To his surprise, all of his friends had moved back to their seats and it was almost time for the class to end. He blinked up at Finny, who was standing next to him with a confused expression.

"I was just asking if you wanted me to take your paper up to the teacher's desk….are you alright?" he asked uncertainly.

Ciel shrugged. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. I don't mind."

Finny smiled and took the finished quiz, right as the bell rang.

With a sigh, Ciel gathered his books and waited for the crowd to file out of the room before joining the even bigger crowd in the hallway. Just being in the mass of students for a mere few minutes was enough to make him want to gouge his eyes and ears out with a rusty spoon. People stood in front of their lockers and blocked doorways that he needed to get through, and girls screeched over their friends that they had clearly seen yesterday, and the day before. Every day, he was forced to walk these halls with the same idiots he had been subjected to for years. He was grateful that it was his junior year, and he would only have one more year to put up with these people. He was also grateful that it was the last period of the day. Luckily, it was AP Literature, one of the few classes that he enjoyed. It was full of seniors, and since it was an AP class, most of them were serious about the class and enjoyed it was much as he did.

After a trip to his locker to grab his binder and notes, the rather short boy hurried to the classroom upstairs. He passed the threshold right as the bell rang and slid into his seat near the back.

"Right on time, Ciel." a tall Indian man smiled from behind his desk. He pushed his white locks behind his ear before addressing the class cordially. "Ah, it's finally the end of the day. And I get to end it with my favorite class. But don't tell any of the others I said that." he mock-whispered.

The students laughed lightly, and one raised their hand.

"Mr. Agni, are we going to go over the interpretations we had to write for homework?"

"Yes, of course. Everyone pull those out please." the teacher nodded.

Ciel frowned as he retrieved his half-written assignment. Even though he had reread the passage countless times, he just couldn't grasp what the writer was trying to say. That was also another reason that he liked this class. While the rest of his classes were a breeze to him, this one truly challenged him.

"Is there anyone that would like to volunteer?" Mr. Agni inquired.

As usual, only one person raised his hand. Ciel really couldn't stand him. He always seemed to have an answer for everything, not to mention he was so _nice_. Ciel hated people that were overly nice and polite. It seemed like they were just faking it. But it was even worse in this case because this guy actually seemed genuine about it. It made Ciel sick to his stomach.

The student stood up and began reading in front of the class, and Ciel sneered at his nice clothes and hair that fell attractively in front of his eyes. Everyone knew that the boy's parents were rich, so there was no doubt that they had bought the expensive-looking clothes for him. Why wouldn't they spend their money on such a polite, intelligent, _perfect_ son?

The class clapping brought him out of his thoughts, and he rolled his eyes as Mr. Agni praised him.

"That was very good, Sebastian. Even I didn't think about the idea that his parents could have such a negative effect on his life choices. That was very insightful."

The tall boy smiled modestly and thanked his teacher as he sat back down.

Ciel almost threw up.

The rest of the period passed by in a blur. After going over more interpretations of the passage, they simply had a class discussion about the author's life. The final bell finally rung, and Ciel could feel the tension in his body automatically release. He was finally free. Free for an entire weekend. Without even hesitating, he grabbed his things and hurried to his locker.

* * *

His backpack was lazily deposited on the floor by the front door as Ciel entered the spacious home.

"Take it up to your room." a voice called from the kitchen.

Ciel rolled his eyes and picked up the bag again. "You're home early." he added. Not waiting for a response, he shuffled up the steps and went to his room, closing the door behind him. He threw his backpack onto the chair at his desk before slipping off his shoes with a content sigh. He had cleaned up a few days ago, so he didn't have to wade through any disarray to get to his prized possession. He plucked the silver laptop off of his desk and plopped down on his bed.

The door opened, and a head of steel blue hair liken to his own peeked into the room.

"Dad, you could at least knock! What if I was in here watching porn or masturbating or something?" Ciel scowled over at him.

"With all the time you spend on that laptop, I wouldn't be surprised. Besides, I pay the bills in this house, so I'll open any door I please. Now what do you want for dinner?" the tall man asked with a pleased grin on his face.

Ciel stared at him with a stale expression. Sometimes it seemed that the man lived to annoy him. "I don't know, pizza rolls?" he finally answered, his eyes going back to his computer screen.

"I did not come home early from work to make pizza rolls." his father frowned.

"Alright fine, whatever you make is okay with me." Ciel replied dismissively. "Just remember that you kinda suck at cooking." he grinned, knowing that would get him back.

Narrowing his eyes at him, Ciel's father frowned deeper. "You know I try my best. I hope it tastes extra horrible tonight, just to spite you."

"Mhm, thanks Dad." Ciel said distantly. The door to his room closed, and he knew that his father was right. The man may be successful in the legal field, but when it came to cooking, he was downright terrible. That job was usually left up to Ciel's mother, but she had left the family a number of years ago. Just the thought of her explaining that "she needed to find herself" and "she never felt like a real mother" was enough to give him an annoyed headache.

He pushed the thoughts of his mind as the tell-tale chime of his laptop starting up sounded. He didn't hesitate to open Google Chrome, where his favorite site was already bookmarked. Ciel sat back with a slight smile as his Dashboard loaded. For him, Tumblr was a sanctuary. He could truly be himself, and was surrounded only by people that he liked. He didn't have to worry about idiotic children from school or annoying teachers.

For Ciel, Tumblr was his escape.

His blog opened, and he was met with the familiar images of scenic landscapes, interesting tattoos, and funny text posts that he was used to seeing. He opened his inbox, where a few people had asked him questions and his opinion on things. Even an anonymous user had sent him a message saying how much they loved his blog, complete with a few little hearts. Ciel smiled as he responded to the messages, then went on to his usual schedule of making an annoyed text post about his day.

_I'm going to start tripping these kids if they don't walk faster in the hallways. Seriously, what is so important that you have to scream to your friend standing right next to you?_

He posted the message, watching as his usual followers liked and reblogged the post. His eyes narrowed when a name popped up that he didn't recognize.

**caged-dark-wings** _reblogged your post_

Ciel frowned at the unknown name, then shrugged, figuring it was a random person that had stumbled upon his blog by accident. He was about to click on their blog out of curiosity, but froze when he heard his father.

"Come down for dinner, Ciel." the man called from the bottom of the steps.

With a sigh, he closed his laptop and went to face whatever concoction his father had created.


	2. Chapter 2

Crimson eyes glanced over the familiar faces in the classroom. They all held expressions that the young man had seen throughout his life. Admiration, wonder, jealousy, even a particular look of disgust.

"That was very good, Sebastian. Even I didn't think about the idea that his parents could have such a negative effect on his life choices. That was very insightful."

With a humble smile, Sebastian nodded and thanked his teacher before returning his seat, stealing one final glance at his peers. Most of them stared at him with respect, others with jealousy, of how he had come up with such a response and presented it to the class. But it wasn't that Sebastian enjoyed or wanted to be cast in the spotlight. It was simply what was expected of him.

* * *

"Great job tonight, Sebastian! I'm surprised that you got that French Revolution question, I completely forgot." "No, it was easy. You scored a bunch of points, too." The shorter male smiled and nodded as he shrugged on his jacket. "Everyone's going out for pizza to celebrate, do you want to come with? William's got room in his truck." Sebastian hesitated slightly before shaking his head. As much as he would have enjoyed going out with his Scholastic Bowl team, he had to be home soon.

"I'm supposed to be helping my mom with something, I'll go with you guys next time." he responded with a smile. He received the reaction he always got when he declined their offers to go out, and he was soon on his way back to his car. The school parking lot was nearly empty, and the cool afternoon breeze was enough to make him pull his school-logo-embroidered sweater closer to his slim frame. Climbing into the car, Sebastian sighed as he settled into the smooth leather of his seat. It took him a second to take in his surroundings. His crimson eyes scanned over the immaculate interior of the small vehicle his parents had bought him for his 17th birthday. Even here, everything was neatly organized and tucked away. He realized with a roll of his eyes that the collection of classical music CD's in his armrest was alphabetized. He shook his head with a sigh as he pushed the plastic cases to the side in favor of a hidden disk sandwiched between two Beethoven collections. A slight grin pulled at his lips as he pushed the CD into the slot, the sound of some obscene mixture of rock and rap blaring through his speakers. Feeling a bit more free, Sebastian gave a sigh of content and made his way home.

* * *

"Mother? Father?" the tall teen inquired as he stepped into the large entry hallway. His voice echoed off the polished tile, and he was met with a response before he could even shrug his messenger bag off of his shoulders.

"In the kitchen, honey. How was school?"

Sebastian held onto his bag to take it to his room after speaking to his mother. He hesitated when he passed the large hallway mirror. Checking his appearance, he smoothed down his ruffled hair and straightened the tie peeking from under his sweater before forcing a smile. "It was fine, Mother. I picked up a new book from the library."

The brunette woman turned from her place at the kitchen sink to face her son. "That's lovely, Sebastian. How did you do on that interpretation?"

Sebastian looked at her for a second as to consider her. Her dark locks were falling into the piercing red eyes that were so similar to his own. The eyes that had been watching him intently all of his life.

"I did rather well. Mr. Agni liked it." Sebastian shrugged, leaning against the shiny granite countertop. "I told you that you didn't need any help. Pretty soon you'll be able to teach that class yourself." the woman laughed lightly. "And since you're doing so well, I expect nothing less of an A on that progress report. Do you know that you almost got a B last quarter? Don't let yourself slip, Sebastian." she smiled knowingly.

Even though the teen knew she was only playfully scolding him, Sebastian could detect the seriousness in her words. If he even _thought_ about letting his grades slip below superb, there would be hell to pay.

"Of course not, Mother. I'm quite tired from the Scholastic Bowl competition, would it be alright if I rested in my room until dinner time?"

"Go ahead, darling. I'll call you down when your father comes home from work so that we can all eat together."

Sebastian forced another smile before nodding and continuing on his path to his bedroom. Only when he had come to the last door at the end of the hall and shut it closed tightly behind him did he let a breath of relief part his lips. As if the strings that had been holding him up had been cut, Sebastian felt his body relax from the stiff upright position he was used to standing in, the false smile on his face falling like a heavy stone.

The first thing he needed to do was get out of these tacky, uncomfortable clothes.

Stretching languidly, the teen yawned as he shuffled over to his bathroom. He reemerged a few seconds later in nothing but his boxers and a t-shirt. He collapsed onto his bed with a sigh, fanning his long limbs out over the large space. Thoughts of school and activities and tests threatened to once again invade his mind, but he forced them all back. This was his time to himself, and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

A grin spread over his face as he reached for the laptop perched on his nightstand and started it up. As the piece of technology booted up, his eyes wandered around the room. Perfectly organized books sat on a large bookshelf, most of them he'd never even touched. His desk was covered in stacks of papers and folders, and even a very expensive looking microscope. Nothing was in disarray. Even his room was proper and perfect, and Sebastian hated it. What the young man wouldn't give just to knock over the stacks of papers and burn them into cinder. Or perhaps throw away all of the prestigious awards and certificates that lined his drab gray walls. He couldn't even fathom the joy he would feel from being able to tear down the perfection that was his prison cell of a room.

Sebastian was pulled out of his thoughts by the glowing light of his laptop screen. He'd already had it set to open Chrome as soon as it had started up. Without an ounce of hesitation, he clicked on a tab that was at the top of his bookmarks and most visited in his history. He felt himself truly relax when the dark teal blue background of Tumblr colored his screen. For Sebastian, this was the one place where he could be free of people trying to shove their expectations down his throat. Here, he didn't have to be the class genius, or the perfect son, or whatever stupid mold someone was trying to force him into. For him, this site was home.

For Sebastian, Tumblr was his escape.

He laughed lightly to himself as he scrolled down his Dashboard, coming across lame puns and jokes made by blogs that he followed. His eyebrows piqued up in interest when he went past a few explicit posts, but he was used to them by now. Sebastian found himself giving his usual "Fuck off." to the people that dared to send him anonymous hate messages, but he soon found himself without anything to do. All of his messages were read. He had been going back and forth with another user as they wrote a rather graphic story together, but that person had yet to reply. He sighed, and was seriously thinking about taking a nap when his eyes scanned across a name he didn't recognize.

**welcometotheblkparade** _reblogged this post from_ **_shut-the-fuck-up-twat-nugget_ **

Sebastian stared at the name for a second before breaking into an amused smile. Just what kind of url was that? What in the world was a twat nugget? Chuckling at the absurdity, Sebastian clicked on the name, expecting to be redirected to some lame loser who thought he was clever. He expected stupid selfies and pictures of half naked girls, along with quotes and logos from bands the guy didn't even listen to. He was surprised to see beautiful photography shots, interesting text posts, and clips from songs that actually weren't that bad. He couldn't help from laughing at the post about idiots in the hallways, and Sebastian found himself thinking that this person wasn't as bad as he'd thought. After reblogging a few more of the person's posts, Sebastian got up from the bed with a sigh. It was almost time for his father to get home.

It was time to return to his cage.


	3. Chapter 3

Claude lobbed a paper ball at the head of slate hair, laughing at the annoyed scowl he received.

"Maybe if you got off of that damn phone and focused on our study guide, I wouldn't have to throw things at you." he smirked.

Ciel rolled his eyes and looked back down at his phone screen. The glass sheet glowed under his gentle touch as he scrolled down over it. He only looked up to make sure their AP U.S History teacher was still sitting at her desk, then resumed.

"What are you even doing? I know you hate Facebook, and it's not like you have a boyfriend to text…." Claude teased. Being the closest thing to a best friend that the smaller boy had, he knew exactly how to get under his skin.

"Fuck you, Faustus." Ciel gruffed, flipping him off discreetly. He had been on his Tumblr app nearly all day. He didn't want to admit it, but he had only been on a certain blog. After he had stumbled upon it a few days ago, Ciel couldn't help himself from looking at it constantly. Whoever this "caged-dark-wings" person was, they seemed so interesting. He could tell that they were a student from the time frame that they made posts, so Ciel guessed that the person was around his age. He also suspected that this person was female, judging from the pictures of half-naked men that would pop up at times. Or maybe it was a gay male? He hadn't thought of that until now. Ciel was still unsure, but either way, he knew that he liked this person. They seemed to have a great sense of humor, sharp and sarcastic like his own, and shared the same viewpoints that he did. Ciel would definitely enjoy becoming friends with this person. The next step was to talk to this mysterious person, but he found himself hesitating every time. Ciel wasn't the type to struggle with self-confidence in any other situation. But he could tell from the number of asks and messages that the person replied to publicly that they were rather popular. And Ciel didn't want to be just another random person trying to talk to them. Ciel wanted to stand apart from the rest. He didn't want to be regarded as simply someone that liked the blog, he wanted to get to know the blogger as well.

"Thanks for helping with this review guide, Ciel. You're such a great partner!" Claude remarked sarcastically as he finished the last question. "You can take mine to copy off of since we have to turn it in for credit tomorrow. What were you thinking about that was so distracting?"

Ciel blinked at the question, hesitating before answering. His friends knew that he liked Tumblr, but he never shared how it important it was to him. "Just this new blog I started following. It's interesting, I guess." he said casually, but hurried to change the subject. "The test is tomorrow right?"

Noticing the quick diversion, Claude wondered if he should press the subject. He was used to Ciel being rather private and only giving minor details about things pertaining to himself. "Yeah, the test is tomorrow. So don't forget to copy my review guide and give it back later."

Ciel nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. He had decided. He would talk to that blog today.

* * *

"Hey Sebs, can I copy your notes from yesterday? I fell asleep during the Powerpoint…"

Sebastian sighed under his breath before forcing a smile and turning to the redhead sitting behind him. This student managed to annoy him in every class period they shared, not to mention the fact that he was unorganized and lazy. And he had the sneaking suspicion that the boy had a crush on him.

"Of course, Grell. And again, my name is Sebastian. Not Sebs, nor Bassy, or whatever else you have managed to come up with." he said calmly, though there was a hint of malice in his eyes. He handed the other student his notebook and turned back to the front, right as the bell marking the start of class rang. One more student stumbled in a second later. Sebastian had him in a few other classes, but he barely knew his name. He only recognized him by his bluish-gray hair. The student glanced at him on his way to his seat and frowned, and Sebastian stared at him. What was that about? Sebastian always made sure not to upset anyone, no matter how much people annoyed him, so what was that guy's problem? Their teacher began writing on the board, and he pushed the thought out of his mind.

"Today I'll be introducing your next project. But this time you'll be working in partners." Mr. Agni announced.

The class at once erupted in mutters and whispers as the students hurried to pick their friends. Quick to quell the noise, Mr. Agni called over his students. "But I will be picking your partners." he added. He chuckled at the groans he received before pulling out a stack of papers. "Now when I call your names, come up with your partner and get your packet with the assignment."

Sebastian waited patiently in his seat, thinking about who he would be paired with. It didn't really matter because he would probably end up doing most of the work, anyways. His parents would kill him if his GPA went down even a single point, and he wasn't going to risk that by wrestling with a partner that was unmotivated or inept.

"Sebastian and Ciel."

His dark eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he stood up. Who was Ciel? Being one that didn't talk to many people in the class, he didn't have a grasp on everyone's name. Sebastian turned to see who he was being paired with, and his face fell slightly when he realized who it was.

Ciel looked just as unhappy to be paired with him, and there was a distinct frown on his delicate lips. Of all of the people he could have been grouped with, why did it have to be this guy? He was probably a control freak who would demand to do all of the work to ensure that they'd get a good grade. He hated people like that. Taking the packet from his teacher, Ciel didn't even spare a sideways glance at his new partner before returning to his seat.

Sebastian grabbed his assignment as well and sat down at his desk, already annoyed by the other. It seemed that this wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought.

"Now that everyone has their instructions, sit with your partner and discuss how you're going to go through with it. You have until the end of the class period to plan."

Gathering his things, Sebastian sighed under his breath and dragged himself to the back of the classroom where his new partner was waiting. Despite the dark look he was being given, he forced himself to smile cordially. He was just going to have to get this over with.

"Let's get started shall we?" he pressed, opening up the packet and skimming over their assignment. When he finished, Sebastian looked up to see the shorter male staring at him. Had he even read what they were supposed to be doing?

"So it seems that we'll be given a list of authors, and our assignment is to write an original piece that will portray the author's style. Do you understand?" he asked.

Ciel's eyes narrowed. "I've already read what's in the packet. Don't try to explain things to me as if I'm a child." he frowned. He hated the condescending tone that the other was using, as if he was incapable of understanding simple instructions. Ciel already didn't like this guy, but he figured that he would have to suffer through it to keep his grade up. But he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Look, I know you enjoy being Mr. Perfect and getting the top grade in the class, but I'm going to have a say in this project as well. So don't think that you'll be calling all the shots." he drawled.

Sebastian's jaw clenched in annoyance. Ciel had struck a nerve with the perfection comment, and it was taking all of his self-restraint not to call him out on his rudeness. How dare he try to act as if he knew Sebastian like that? His fingers curled into fists in his lap, his knuckles turning white from the tension. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled slightly in anger, but he caught himself and plastered on a kind smile instead.

"Of course not, Ciel. We're partners, so we'll make sure to divide the work evenly." he assured.

Ciel still looked unconvinced, but he decided to let it slide for now. Mr. Perfect was making an attempt to be polite, so he would go along. "Whatever. Do you know what author you want to do? And if you say Shakespeare, I'll kill you." he grumbled.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of Langston Hughes or Walt Whitman."

His eyebrows raised in surprise, Ciel was taken aback by the other boy's taste. He had expected him to pick someone much more famous to earn a few more points from their teacher, but he seemed to favor better authors. Ciel himself enjoyed Langston Hughes, but thought that the style of Whitman would be easier to mimic.

"I guess we can do Walt, then." he shrugged, trying to hide his approval of Sebastian's literature taste.

The rest of the class period passed by much more quickly than usual, and soon it was almost time for the period to end. The two had created a list of works to read over for inspiration, as well as a list of possible subject matter to write about. The rest of the students were packing up to leave when Sebastian turned back to Ciel.

"I have a Peer Mediation meeting during this class period tomorrow, so I probably won't be here. Would it be alright to work on this a bit more during lunch today instead? We could work in the library. You have lunch next period right?"

Ciel hesitated, his fingers curling around the small stack of books in his hand. To be honest, he absolutely did not want to spend anymore of his day dealing with this guy. Especially not his lunch period. Not to mention the fact that he was planning on using that period finally talk to that blog. But he knew that he would be losing out on work time with Sebastian's absence tomorrow, and they couldn't afford to fall behind on such an important project. He almost wanted to bite his tongue after saying it, but he muttered a response and agreed to meet his classmate in the library.

* * *

Sebastian was surprised to find nearly all of the computers in the library occupied. He suspected that some teacher had assigned a lengthy research paper. He skimmed the aisles until he found an empty seat. The seat next to him was empty, but the computer had already been logged onto and a stack of papers was in front of it. The next seat over was unoccupied, and he sat a book down in front of it to save it for Ciel. Even if they weren't exactly next to each other and Sebastian couldn't see his computer, they were close enough to communicate. He noticed a head of darkish-grey hair enter the library, and he beckoned his partner over to the saved seat.

"So for now, just pull up any poems that you like particularly. Then we can compare and decide which ones to use."

Ciel simply nodded and sat down, starting up his computer. He'd heard what Sebastian had said, but his mind was somewhere else again. He glanced over and noticed with a small grin that he couldn't see what was on Sebastian's computer from where he was sitting. That meant Sebastian couldn't see his screen either. He opened up a tab and Googled "Walt Whitman poems" as a safe page, before opening up a tab for Tumblr. It seemed that he would be able to achieve his goal after all. Ciel snuck a peek at his partner, noting that he seemed to be working diligently. His lips turned up into an idiotic smile as he went to the blog that he had been faithfully reading over all day, willing himself to click the button that said "Ask Me Anything".

_**Leave me a message, I won't bite. Unless you want me to…..**_

Ciel's fingers halted over his keyboard as the banner and empty white box appeared. What was he supposed to say? Should he introduce himself? No, that was too formal. Send just a "hey" and a smiley face? What was he, a twelve year old girl? Ciel cursed himself for acting so juvenile, but he couldn't help wondering what would happen if he managed to say something stupid. With a sigh, he decided to bite the bullet and just send something.

_Hey, I've been looking at your blog for a while and you seem really interesting. But I was curious as to what your gender was? You don't have to answer if you don't want to of course. _

Clicking submit, Ciel quickly went back to the Walt Whitman page to appear as if he was being productive. He was so focused on looking natural that he didn't notice the vibration coming from Sebastian's pocket. Nor did he see the taller male smile at his screen before typing something and swiftly shoving the phone back into his pocket. After a few minutes, Ciel glanced at him again, then paged back over to his Tumblr tab. He felt a elated feeling rising his his chest when he saw that the "caged-dark-wings" blogger had responded to him.

**They say that curiosity killed the cat...but if you really want to know, just visit my ****About Me**** tab. **

Ciel rolled his eyes at the overused saying, but he couldn't help the smile creeping onto his face. He quickly clicked on the link and read the information posted.

_"Male. 19. Stuck in a rut. Every attempt to dig my way out feels like I'm sinking deeper. But freedom is close. Once I have it, I'm not going back."_

Rereading the words several times, Ciel allowed the meaning of the statement to sink in. Did he feel trapped? That would explain the "caged" URL. Even if his words weren't exactly positive, Ciel could feel a bit of empathy. He understood what it was like to feel stuck. That was how he felt every day that he had to drag himself through these damned hallways. He went back over to the "Ask Me" page and found himself typing another message.

_I know exactly what you mean. I hate feeling stuck. I can't wait to find a way out and move forward. _

After submitting the message, Ciel decided to at least try to somewhat contribute to their project today. He turned towards Sebastian, and was about to ask him a question when he saw the student pull out his phone and smirk at the illuminated screen. He froze, feeling as if he had intruded on a moment he wasn't meant to see. Sebastian always seemed so mellow and stoic. Ciel had never seen him show any kind of genuine emotion, especially not like the interested grin he had just witnessed. He watched as the other student typed away on his phone, then set it back down on the table. Wondering what could have possible caught Mr. Perfect's attention, Ciel glanced back at his computer and saw that he had gotten a response. He froze again, his face scrunching in confusion as he turned back towards Sebastian.

Perhaps it was a coincidence.

Ciel reasoned that the timing just happened to match up at that exact moment. As if it prove that the two instances weren't connected, he hurried to type a message, then casually turned back towards Sebastian. Surely enough, the phone vibrated on the table a few seconds later and the screen lit up. Ciel could feel his heart pounding in his ears. This couldn't be true. This couldn't be happening. There had to be some other explanation.

Under the premise of going to get a book, Ciel stood nonchalantly and inched down the aisle. He lingered near Sebastian as his azure eyes drifted over to his still illuminated smartphone. The younger male had just enough time to read the words on the screen before it shut off again.

"Do you need something, Ciel?"

Ciel blinked out of his thoughts when he realized that he'd stopped short and he'd been staring. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he returned to his seat. The words that he'd read kept playing through his mind, wrapping around him like tightly coiled rope. He didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. And there was proof, after all.

Sebastian noticed that he'd almost missed the notification, and he quickly picked up his phone again.

**_shut-the-fuck-up-twat-nugget_**** asked you a question**

He smiled to himself as he responded, not knowing of the disappointed frown being directed at him.

I apologize for the extreme tardiness of this chapter. Life had gotten in the way, per usual. Next update will be sooner, hopefully. Bear with me, readers.

- R


End file.
